marine ecology Flashcards
what are the six levels in ecology
biosphere - all organisms on earth
biome - a large group of plants and animals that occupy areas of similar climate
ecosystem - a small group of plants and animals and their environment
community - all living organisms in an ecosystem
population - a single species of organism in a community
individual - an individual organism
how are ocean biomes divided
proximity to land
temperature
amount of sunlight
what are the zones in ocean biomes based on depth
euphotic (enough light for photosynthesis to occur), photic (presence of light in general), dysphotic (light but not enough for photosynthesis), aphotic (no light)
benthic (on the ocean floor, at any depth)
or
epipelagic (sunlight zone), mesopelagic (twilight), bathypelagic (midnight), abyssopelagic (abyssal), hadal (trenches)
what are the zones in ocean biomes based on distance from shore
intertidal, same as littoral (between high and low tides, on the shore)
neritic (over continental shelf)
pelagic (open ocean, beyond low tide)
what are the three main organism interaction types
predation (one species eats another)
competition (two species compete for the same resources)
symbiosis (other more complex relations)
what are the three types of symbiosis
mutualism (both species benefit each other)
commensalism (one species benefits, other doesnt care)
parasitism (one species benefits, other harmed, through method other than predation)
what is a food web
a food web connects different organisms to show the flow of energy between organisms and the ones that consume them
what are the trophic levels
all energy in a food web originates from the plants such as seaweed and plankton, which get their energy from the sun. they are called primary producers
the next level consumes primary producers and are called primary consumers
the next level consumes primary consumers and are called secondary consumers
then tertiary consumers, quarternary consumers, and so on
some organisms can be on multiple tropic levels depending on their food sources
a separate group called decomposers decompose the remains of organisms on all trophic levels and return nutrients to primary producers
what is the 10% rule
only 10% of the original energy is transferred between trophic levels
this is because 90% of an organisms energy is used in energy for motion, digestion, organic processes, etc
what are autotroph, heterotrophs, and saprotrophs
autotrophs are organisms that can produce their own food (primary producers), photoautotrophs do this through photosynthesis, chemoautotrpohs do this through chemosynthesis
heterotrophs are organisms that cannot produce their own food and must eat other organisms (same as consumers)
heterotrophs that are detrivores, meaning they look for dead animals are scavengers
saprotrophs are a type of heterotroph that decomposes dead organisms by secreting enzymes instead of ingesting them (decomposers)
what are plankton and nekton
nekton can swim freely in bodies of water, they can move independent of water current
plankton cannot move freely and must rely on water currents to move
what are the classifications for organisms that eat plants, eat animals, eat both, and eat decomposing material
plants = herbivore
meat = carnivore
both = omnivore
dead stuff = detritivore
what is primary productivity
the rate at which autotrophs, specifically photosynthetic ones, turn carbon dioxide into living carbon or energy
what is chemosynthesis
the process of producing energy through chemicals
in oceans it is usually through the sulfide from hydrothermal vents
what are phytoplankton
single celled photosynthetic organisms that float freely in water, they are the base of the aqueous food web
what are zooplankton
microscopic animals that drift in the water and eat phytoplankton or other smaller zooplankton
they can be small crustaceans or young organisms such as squid, crab, or jellyfish
they help moderate salinity by absorbing mineral ions to form shells
what is bioamplification
if there is a contaminant in the lower levels of the food web, its concentration will get dramatically higher in the higher levels of the food chain
what are the different sections of oceanic floor
continental shelf (flat, shallow, slow descent)
continental slope (more sudden steeper slope)
continental rise (between continental slope and ocean basin, transition between, less steep)
ocean basin (flat bottom)
trenches (underwater ravines, formed from subduction)
what is the difference between food webs and food chains
food chains only follow one organism per level
food webs show all the food chains in an ecosystem
what are biotic and abiotic factors
biotic factors are living organisms, e.g. animals and plants
abiotic factors are not alive, e.g. sunlight, sediments, nutrients, the landscape
how does upwelling and down welling affect primary productivity
upwelling allows more nutrient rich deep water to rise, increasing primary productivity
downwelling decreases the amount of nutrients, decreasing primary productivity too
